Tykota's voice was harsh as he said, "We have a long way to go, Makinna. It is best if we ride on, since we have already lost time."
She cast him a heated glance and urged her horse into a canter. "The sooner I get away from here, the better," she muttered beneath her breath.
They rode for three hours before they dismounted and rested the horses. Tykota went to speak to several of his warriors, and Coloradous came up beside her. He smiled, and it was almost painful to see how much he resembled Tykota.
"Makinna, it is a good thing you did for our sister. I did not know she was unhappy. Perhaps she would have been unhappy for the rest of her life if you had not helped her."
She was puzzled. "I was told you did not speak much English. Yet you speak it very well, Coloradous."
"I have practiced with my sister. She would come to my lodge in the woods and spend hours teaching me. I did not know even then that her heart walked with Kachee. Like the others, I believed she would one day be Santo's woman."
"I hope she will be happy."
"That is my wish, also." He watched her, as if deciding how to choose his words. "Are you sure you want to go away from our village?"
"What do you mean?"
"Do you want to leave my brother?"
Makinna tried to think how to answer him. "Why should I want to stay with Tykota? He does not want to be a part of my life, and I do not want to be part of his."
"Sometimes life is difficult for the chief of the Perdenelas, and our father made it more difficult still for the chief's who come after him. Tykota is feeling the tightening of the laws our father set in motion. Although our father had the best of intentions, he has made a hard road for Tykota to walk."
Makinna recalled Mrs. Silverhorn saying almost the same thing. "We all have our roads to walk, Coloradous. Mine just happens to lead to California."
Tykota returned, his expression fierce when he saw Makinna talking to his brother. "Do you talk all day, or do we ride?" he asked his brother in their language.
Coloradous merely smiled, knowing Tykota would be jealous of any man who looked at Makinna. "We ride."
Makinna was silent for most of the day. By dusk, they made camp on high ground so they could see anyone who might approach. Guards were posted, and Makinna wondered if Tykota expected trouble.
Coloradous was standing on the edge of a cliff staring out at the desert when she approached him. "Will the Apaches still be searching for Tykota?"
"Not anymore. And if you are feeling uneasy, know this-no Apache or any other tribe would attack this large a force of Perdenelas."
"Why is that?"
"They fear us."
"Oh. It is hard for me to think of the Perdenelas as dangerous, since I have experienced so much kindness from your people."
"Do not be fooled by the reception you received. The Perdenelas are known to be the fiercest warriors in this land." He smiled. "But I pray you will always think of us as kind."
Tykota's shadow fell across Makinna's face, but his eyes were on his brother, and he spoke in their language. "Do you stand talking to the woman, or do you take your turn at guard?"
Coloradous laughed and gripped his rifle. "I stand guard, my chief."
Makinna refused to look at Tykota. She told herself she would be only too happy to get to her destination and see the last of him. He had become so different-hard, unreachable, and cruel. She turned to leave, but his voice stopped her.
"Now we will speak of what happened with my sister."
"I have nothing to say to you, Tykota. You were blind and heartless if you could not see that the man you called friend was hurting your own sister."
"Perhaps I was," he said regretfully. "I should have taken better care of my sister."
"You should have asked her what she wanted out of life. Did it not seem strange to you that she had never married though all her friends had done so and begun their families?"
He closed his eyes. "I should have known."
"Yes, you should have."
He gazed out on the apricot-colored sky and drew in a deep breath, letting it out slowly.
Suddenly, sympathy welled up in her, because she felt his spirit was tormented. After all, he had been betrayed by a friend. "I am sorry about Santo, but he has not proven himself worthy of your friendship."
He turned and stared at her, and her heart stopped beating. He was so handsome, his body so beautiful in his breechcloth. She tore her mind away from his physical appearance and tried to concentrate on their conversation. "You may as well know it, Tykota. I'm not sorry for helping Inea. She is a special person, and she needed a friend. I make no apology for being that friend and for helping her trick Santo into showing his true nature."